The Kreutzer Sonata (1987 film)

The Kreutzer Sonata
Directed by	Mikhail Shveytser Sofiya Milkina
Written by	Mikhail Shveytser Leo Tolstoy (novella)
Produced by	Maria Zakharova
Starring	Oleg Yankovskiy Aleksandr Trofimov
Cinematography	Mikhail Agranovich
Edited by	Lyudmila Feiginova
Music by	Sofia Gubaidulina
Production company	Mosfilm
Release date	1987 (1987)
Running time	158 minutes
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Russian

The Kreutzer Sonata (Russian: Крейцерова соната, romanized: Kreytserova sonata) is a 1987 Soviet romantic drama film directed by Mikhail Shveytser, based on Leo Tolstoy's 1889 novella The Kreutzer Sonata.

Plot

Vasily Pozdnyshov, a respected, honorable man known as a loving husband and caring father, confesses to a fellow train passenger how he became a brutal murderer of his wife, driven by a surge of jealousy after suspecting her of infidelity. In a fit of rage, he stabbed her with a Damascus blade.

Pozdnyshov recounts the events that led him to kill his wife, insisting he genuinely loved her. She was poor and had no influential family, and he did everything to make her happy. Yet, from the beginning of their marriage, things went awry. His wife was quiet, often melancholic, and frequently wept despite his devotion. Her only joy seemed to come from the company of a charming violinist. Initially, Pozdnyshov saw no harm and even left them alone together, but on returning, he found her with the musician. Enraged, Pozdnyshov drove the violinist away and, overcome by jealousy, seized a dagger and killed his unfaithful wife.

Cast

• Oleg Yankovsky as Poznyshev
• Aleksandr Trofimov as The Fellow Passenger
• Irina Seleznyova as Liza
• Dmitriy Pokrovsky as Trukhachevsky
• Alla Demidova as The Lady
• Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina as Liza's mother
• Aleksandr Kalyagin as passenger
• Mikhail Gluzsky as passenger
• Olga Tokareva as Liza's sister
• Nina Agapova as Leocadia Petrovna
• Yuri Volyntsev as gentleman in public places

External links

• The Kreutzer Sonata at AllMovie
• The Kreutzer Sonata at IMDb